Blossom plugs in and lights up for the season.

For the first time in its 38-year history, Blossom Music Center opens its gates in the winter for the inaugural Blossom Holiday Lighting Festival. "It's a little bit atypical for us," says Mark Girton, general manager of the outdoor-concert venue. "Obviously, it'll be some kids' first exposure to Blossom." Every day until the beginning of January, Blossom hosts a two-mile road tour of 300 animated lighting displays. It took three weeks to string together and includes a 200-foot-long Tunnel of Lights and the 45-foot-high Snowflake Archway. "It's not thrown together and homemade-looking," says Girton. "It's professional and classy."

But Girton warns spectators to refrain from leaving their vehicles to get a closer look at the light show. "People can take pictures, but we advise them to stay in their cars for safety reasons," he says. "Ninety-nine percent of the folks that come to this are going to be perfectly content to sit in their nice, warm cars and not deal with the elements."
Fridays, Saturdays, 6-11 p.m.; Sundays, 6-9 p.m. Starts: Nov. 18. Continues through Jan. 6